ON THE PUBLIC SHOWS. 229
them. He has trueand profitablepleasures,ifhe willrecol
lecthimself. And to say nothingof thosewhich he cannot
yet contemplate,he has thatbeautyof the world to lookupon
and admire. He may gaze upon the sun'srising,and again
on itssetting,as it bringsround in theirmutual changes
days and nights; the moon's orb,designatingin itswaxings
and wanings the courses of the seasons; the troops of
shining stars,and thosewhich glitterfrom on high with ex
treme mobility,— theirmembers dividedthrough the changes
of the entireyear,and the days themselveswith the nights
distributedintohourlyperiods; the heavy mass of the earth
balancedby the mountains,and the flowingriverswith their
sources; the expanse of seas,with theirwaves and shores;
and meanwhile, the air,subsistingequally everywhere in
perfectharmony, expanded in the midst of all,and in con
cordantbonds animatingallthingswith itsdelicatelife,now
scatteringshowers from the contractedclouds,now recalling
the serenityof the sky with itsrefreshedpurity; and in all
these spherestheirappropriatetenants— in the airthe birds,
in the waters the fishes,on the earth man. Let these,I
say,and other divineworks,be the exhibitionsfor faithful
Christians. What theatrebuiltby human hands couldever
be compared to such works as these1 Although it may be
rearedwith immense pilesof stones,the mountain crestsare
loftier; and althoughthe frettedroofsglitterwith gold,they
will be surpassedby the brightnessof the starryfirmament.
Never willany one admire the works of man, ifhe has recog
nisedhimselfas the son of God. He degradeshimselffrom
the heightof his nobility,who can admire anything but the
Lord.
10. Let the faithfulChristian,I say,devotehimselfto the
sacredScriptures,and there he shallfindworthy exhibitions
for hisfaith. He willsee God establishingHis world,and
making not only the other animals,but that marvellous
and betterfabricof man. He willgaze upon the world in
its delightfulness,righteousshipwrecks,the rewardsof the
good, and the punishments of the impious,seas draineddry
by a people,and again from the rock seas spreadout by a